


Every Storm runs out of Rain

by StormblazeP51



Category: Planes(Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, Inspired by a song a Storm and a panicattack, Minor Character Death, OOC Ryker, Other, PTSD, Recovery, Ryker served, War Trauma, some fluff at the end!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-10-24 16:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20709131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormblazeP51/pseuds/StormblazeP51
Summary: During a severe Thunderstorm Ryker suffers through Flashbacks of his time as explosives defuser in War.In other Words, Ryker panics, Kurtz worries and we get a look at a side of Ryker that he rarely reveals.





	Every Storm runs out of Rain

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by Gary Allan's "Every Storm runs out of Rain" from his Album set you free. I wrote it during a Thunderstorm that kept me awake till 4am and in the aftermath of a "minor" Panic attack. 
> 
> In my HC Ryker's full name is Nicolai Alexej Ryker, his parents descent from Russia but moved to the US two years before he was born. His Father was an Investigator, his mother a Firefighter. They both died as Ryker was barely five years old. He came into an orphanage, but he ran away several times. With Fiveteen he joined the U.S-army and became a defuser. An Incident three years later (That we'll meet in the story), ends his carrier and he has to start from new. 
> 
> Also in my HC, Henry, name given by me, Kurtz originates from Germany. Mainly because of his surname, Kurtz, which means "Short" or "Stubby". He wanted to become a court notetaker, but things worked differently and he ended up with the TMST. He was then paired up with Ryker, who became a close friend and confidant to the Forklift.
> 
> So, I hope my HC doesn't upset anybody and I hope you have fun reading it!

_25 July 1986, Afghanistan,Convoy on a small dirtroad:_

_Slowly a small group of Soldiers drove along an abandoned dirt road. At the front was a young ARFF, he was in the tender age of 18, he was an explosives tracker and one of the best defusers of the US Army. Behind him was a convoy of four Jeeps. They were headed for a Military base, were they would be upgraded and send to Kabul. _

_The ARFF drove slowly, his eyes scanned the ground for any suspicious rocks or holes in the ground. A scanner that detected explosive components such as Nitroglycerin was mounted to his front and cracked and cackled while driving over the barren landscape. The ARFF was tense, this area was known for being a populated place for terrorists. Behind him he could hear the Jeeps whisper quietly to themselves, they were just as tense as he was. He stopped as the scanner gave alarm and his eyes found something that looked suspiciously like the trigger of a mine. A telescopic arm that had been mounted to his roof slowly extended and dropped a bag of weights onto the supposed trigger. There was a quiet 'click' and seconds later the mine blew up. The Jeeps coughed as dust and small rocks fell down upon them. „Good job Mr. Ryker“ praised Sgt. Smith, he was a WWII willys jeep and veteran who fought and survived Vietnam. He was the jeep that was right behind him. „Thank you, Sir“ answered Ryker. The convoy proceeded their slow roll, only occasionaly they stopped to blow up a mine or clear a path. _

_Everything went smooth and his inner clock told him that they should reach the base in about thirty minutes. This thought put his tense mind a bit at ease. He stopped again as the scanner cracked loudly, a small black „rock“ perked out of the ground. Nothing too suspicious if it weren't for the slight, circle shaped raise in ground around the „rock“. Ryker repeated the, by now familiar, procedure of extending the telescopic arm and droping something onto the Mine. Little did he know that it was no usual mine. He dropped the small bag onto the rock. There was a click, but nothing happened. The Jeeps behind him came forward and Llt. general Quary, a F-151 Mutt, opened his mouth to say something, as a loud noise and a feeling of intense heat enveloped them all. A milisecond later Ryker felt himself being lifted off of the ground and excruciating pain radiated through his entire body. Just before he hit ground there was another loud boom...._

….And Ryker awoke with a cry. He trembled, tears streamed down his face and he was dripping with cold sweat. A bright burst of lightning brightened the entire room and an enormus clash of thunder made the windows vibrate. He flinched violently as another Lightning bolt struck just meters away from the building. The following thunder caused him to cower with a terrified whimper. The memories of that day surged back up and he could feel himself getting lost in them. Soon the only thing he heard was the whistling of artillery, the thunder of the explosions and the screams of the dying and wounded.  
_He could smell burned Metall, spilled fluids, black powder and chemicals. He tasted the sand in his mouth and the metallic, salty taste of blood. Before him he saw Llt. General Quary, at least what was left of him, laying in a steadily growing puddle of his own blood. Beside him was Captain McMiller, his entire left flank was ripped open, spilling fluids and parts onto the ground while he took his last dying breaths. Sec. Llt. Porters was cowering a few meters off to the side, crying like child and trembling like a leaf. Sgt,Smith was a few meters in front of him, ordering a medevac, a large piece of jarred metal stuck out of his flank, and he was steadily loosing vital fluids. He himself lay on the ground in a ditch beside the road,his ears rang and his body was tormented by excruciating Pain. He could feel the alarming sensation of hot blood that seeped from several severe wounds on his undercarriage._

Another monsterous flash of lightning whited out the room and Ryker released a muffled cry. Phantom Pain spread from his front axle to his first rear axle, into his flanks and up his face and he yearned for someone to come and make it stop. Pure fear pumped through his veins and paralized him, he shook and cried so hard that his chest hurt but the memories stayed. He hid beneath his blanket, squeezed his eyes shut and hugged one of the pillows close to his chest. The lightning made him flinch and the thunder made him cry out. He felt panic rise in him as he struggled for breath. He felt sick and his tanks churned painfuly and he wheezed as his panic made him throw up. He hadn't eaten anything the day before so he could only dry heave, which did nothing to sooth the burning ache in his chest, or make it any easier for him to breath. He was too caught up in his breakdown to notice that someone had entered the room. It was his aid, Henry Kurtz. The small Forklift rolled forwards to Ryker and gently tried to snap him out of his panic attack. „Nicolai? Nicolai? Can you hear me?“ asked Henry. But Ryker didn't hear him. Instead the ARFF lay on the floor, trembling and gasping for breath while his body cramped and convulsed. Henry quickly pulled a small goodie out of his tool holster. He always had a few with him for situations such as these. He had early on figured out that the best way to snap Ryker out of a panic, was to lay a sweet in his mouth, so that the new taste would ground him back to reality. He rolled to Ryker's face and quickly put the candy in the ARFF's mouth. Ryker froze for a second, the sweet taste in his mouth effectively brought him back into the present. His eyes darted around and stayed with the small Forklift and an immense feeling of relief washed over him. „Henry? Help“ sobbed Ryker before he broke down on his bed, crying. Henry climbed up onto the sleepingmat and laid a gentle, reassuring tine on Ryker's cheek. Immediatly the ARFF leaned into him and pulled him close. Henry let him, this wasn't the first time that Ryker had one of these attacks. He just caressed the Crashtender's cheek, occasionaly whiping a tear away. He hummed a soft melody into Ryker's ear and Just as it seemed like Ryker could calm down on his own, a large flash of Lightning struck the Building, making the walls vibrate and the thunder was loud enough to deafen them both for a few seconds. The sound of the vibrations reminded him of _ Helicopter blades. Three large Chinooks hovered above him, one of them shouted instructions down but he couldn't hear a word. Suddenly he felt a searing hot pain on his undercarriage and screamed. Appearantly one of the field medics was provisionally wielding his wounds shut. He didn't know how he lay there, crying in pain and panic, but he was glad as the Fieldmedic finally cleared him for the flight. He could feel how two broad Belts were slipped underneath him, someone shouted something and then he was slowly lifted upwards. Something gently slapped against his cheek and he whimpered, for a milisecond he saw a forklift out of the corner of his eye _Kurtz gently patted Rykers Cheek, softly bringing him back to reality. „Nicolai, Nicolai, shhhh it's okay, I'm here with you. It's gonna go away, You're not alone, It's gonna go away, I'm gonna keep you safe. Shhh just breathe, breathe, there you go, in and out, like that. Yes, good job, your doing great, It's okay“ whispered Henry while he caressed Ryker's cheek. Ryker listened to Henry's soft words, he focused on his breathing and was slowly able to bring it back under control, turning it from desperate, short gasps to deep and slow breaths. Henry praised him and encouraged him to keep his breathing even. „Remember the happy place Alex'?“ The „Happy place“ as Henry had called it, was a place that Ryker remebered from his childhood. It was the place where his Father had first met his mom. His parents had often taken him there for picnic, he felt safe there. It was a small clearing in a forest. _A big willow stands in the middle of a clearing, the grass around it is lush and green. Butterflies dance in the warm air of late spring. The rising sun baths the little clearing in a loving, soft golden light. Birds tweet in the branches and the last fireflies wirl around, sparkling like fairy lights. Giggling and squealing echoes across the scenery. A small bright orange ARFF fools around, rolls in the soft grass and giggles as his Father blows warm air at his belly. His mother stands of to the side, in the cool shade of the Willow's gently waving branches. She chuckles, her gentle brown eyes never leaving the scene in front of her. „Vlad, Nicolai, come, let's watch the sunrise“ „Yay! Sunpise“cheers the small ARFF. His father laughs, gently nudging him to his mother....._  
Nicolai sighed softly, a wave of tranquility washed over him and the aching in his chest became less and less. The storm outside decreasd and soon the only thing that could be heard was the soft rain, that gently pelted against the windowboard, and washed away the fear and pain....

~End~

**Author's Note:**

> ~Every storm runs, runs out of rain  
Just like every dark night turns into day  
Every heartache will fade away  
Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain~


End file.
